The ANC is taking a wait-and-see approach to Jacob Zuma's immediate future.

This follows a national working committee meeting in Johannesburg yesterday - the first since Mr Justice Herbert Msimang sent prosecutors back to the drawing board and gave Zuma and his supporters ammunition to argue that he was indeed a victim of a political conspiracy.

The ANC meeting lasted four hours and was attended by Zuma himself, but not by President Thabo Mbeki or Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who were hosting India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Cosatu's call for Zuma's re-instatement as deputy president of the country or, at least, for him to be given a full-time salary as ANC deputy president, was not even discussed, as the matter was sub judice, said party spokesman Smuts Ngonyama.

"Striking off the roll does not mean the end of the case. We don't know what will follow. We don't want to pronounce and talk about the matter."

The National Prosecuting Authority has yet to indicate whether it will re-indict Zuma, with the outcome of Schabir Shaik's appeal among the is-sues to be considered.

Zuma was fired as South Af-rican deputy president on June 14 last year and resigned his post as MP on the same day. He does not earn a monthly salary.

Ngonyama said an internal task team's investigation into the so-called hoax e-mail saga had not been completed and was not on the agenda of the National Executive Committee gathering this weekend, nor was it discussed yesterday.

With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal and Cape Argus.